Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Old Man and the Sea” presents a thought provoking response to the theme of pride versus humility. By looking at the motives of two main characters we can gain a better insight into two different takes on this issue.
The protagonist of the novel is Santiago. Santiago’s character develops over the course of the novel. Santiago represents an undying need to prove himself and his stubbornness doesn’t allow him to give into his struggles (Hemingway). The old man is in a constant battle against the forces of the sea, even though we know his need to catch a fish is dire we also sense that survival is not his only goal. Hunger doesn’t seem to be the motivator, instead it is pride that will not allow him to quit.
The antagonist is the Marlin. Throughout the course of the story the Marlin is in a constant battle with Santiago. This Marlin is all that stands between Santiago and his success. To Santiago beating the Marlin is more important than anything else in his life at that time (Hemingway). The Marlin is symbolic of struggle in this book.
“The Old Man and the Sea” asks the reader to define what they think pride is. Even though Santiago’s pride will not allow him to give up, we also sense that he has an air of humility about himself and his situation. This suggests that pride and humility are not independent of one another. This idea is expressed in the statement, "Thank you," the old man said. He was too simple to wonder when he had attained humility. But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true pride.”(Hemingway) If Santiago was to explain this, I feel that he would say, “I neither won nor lost, for I was at one with the sea at last.”
When Santiago speaks of his life upon the sea he doesn’t not brag, yet simple recounts events so that the boy may learn from his past experiences. He doesn’t feel that he is the best fisherman, but he feels the need to prove himself one more time. We sense that he doesn’t want to do this for the recognition of others but instead as a personal goal. He is not afraid to accept advice or help from others, but in the end he wants to accomplish this task for himself (“destroyed but not”).
As for the motivations of the Marlin, it too only wishes to survive. In order to live it must thwart Santiago. The Marlin wants to live and thrive while Santiago wants to simple be who he is and continue his relationship with the sea, he feels that catching the Marling would provide him this validation.
Throughout the course of the story, this epic battle between man and fish lead to self-reflection on the part of Santiago as to what his goals in life are. He starts out only wanting to prove himself, but as his reflection continues he realizes he also wants to prove himself to the boy he mentored. He wants to be someone that the boy can be proud of and pass on his knowledge to the next generation. Even though he doesn’t feel he is the best, he realizes that he does have value to someone.
In conclusion, “The Old Man and the Sea” presents the story of a man’s deep almost spiritual connection with the sea. Santiago is determined to validate his existence while the Marlin is in a fight for his life. “The Old Man and the Sea” proves that pride and humility can both exist within one character and that pride is not always a “sinful” emotion that we often think it is.
Works Cited:
"Destroyed but not defeated: Hemingway's "The Old Man and the sea”: A psychotherapeutic story." College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | The University of Florida. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013.
Hemingway, Ernest. The old man and the sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.
